Thank you for accepting the interview request Shaxul! How are you doing nowadays? Have you got a lot of work with your bands and labels?
My pleasure, man. I'm busy working on new MANZER releases and plans. I have some work with the label but unfortunately I don't get a lot of orders nowadays, people don't care about the underground and physical formats anymore. The future does not look bright.
Please tell us what is going around in MANZER! Are you already writing songs for the new release?
Actually a new 7"EP has been recorded in November 2017. It is called "Howling Wilderness", it will feature 3 brand new songs and a cover, MANOWAR "Gloves of Metal". A live CD in Japan should be out before the end of the year. We also have projects like a split CD with our Chinese comrades from HELLFIRE, with recordings from our French tour.
Let’s jump to the beginning and please introduce MANZER! Who did bring the band together and what was the inspiration for it? What were the main chapters of in the band’s history?
I am the one who created the band and concept. It was in 2008. I was thinking about it for quite some time as I was so tired and disgusted by the NorseCore trend and many other attacks against traditional Metal. I wanted to go back to the roots. The 80's is my favourite Metal era and I wanted to show it with my band. Also I've played the drums for BARBATOS in 2001 and for sure it has been a huge influence on the creation of MANZER. The main chapters, well there are a few, like the launch of our demo in 2010, our first trip to Asia the same year, the release of our first full-length album in 2013... But you know, many great chapters are yet to be written! Each tour is one of them for example.
The band was named after EblesManzer, who was a descendant of Poitiers house in the end of IX. century. Right? Why did you choose to name the band after him? Could you tell me about EblesManzer briefly?
Yes, our region was ruled by Counts and one of them was called Ebalus Manzer. Manzer comes from Hebrew, it was used in medieval latin to say "illegitimate son", or "bastard" in other words! To me it shows the Rock'n'Roll spirit of the band perfectly! There's not a lot to say about Ebles Manzer, to be honest. His dates are 870 - 935. His life has been made of conquests, and we don't really know more about him. He has been important in structuring Pictavia like other Counts though.
Your music is determined as Pictavian Black Metal. Could you tell us how this conception formed shape? Maybe you have Scotish ancestors?
I don't pretend we have created a new style or something. "Pictavian" means we are inspired by our region, which is located in the center-west of France. It gives an identity to the band. That's something important to me. So many bands just try to copy others without any personality and creativity. I want to show that we can play something old school and primitive but with a strong identity. So we are inspired by legends and culture from our area, we also have quite a lot of songs written in our local language, called Parlanjhe, which is dying, and it is important to me. Actually the tribes who lived in our region were the Pictones and Santones. Historians call them this way to avoid confusion with the Picts from Scotland as basically, some Pictones went to the north and settled in Scotland, and that's where they are called Picts. That's the link but we have nothing to do with Scotland, the fact is that they preserve ancient cultures and history very well, which is absolutely not the case here in our area unfortunately, that's why some people think that there's a link with Scotland, but not all. We both have a region called "Pictavia", thus the confusion. But we are from the ancient lands of the Pictones and Santones.
Your music cannot be compared to ones. How could you describe your Pictavian Black Metal? What is that extra what you put into your music?
I don't think our music is so unique in the sense we are not avant-garde, progressive or any boring shit like that. Though I also believe that by mixing some influences, we succeed in getting a specific style. Our roots are definitely in the 80's. We mix early Black Metal with Heavy Metal, Rock'n'Roll and Punk. It's not really done on purpose, I mean, it comes naturally when we write music. Our influences are VENOM, SABBAT, MOTÖRHEAD, IRON MAIDEN, NWOBHM, BATHORY, JAN DO FIAO, ABIGAIL, KILLERS, ATOMIZER, CARNIVORE, NME, BULLDOZER, IMPALED NAZARENE…
You have got a „mascot figure”. Who created him? Has he got name like for example Eddie from MAIDEN or SODOM’s figure, Knarrenheinz? What does yourfiguresymbolize?
I got this idea. He is called Ebalus (like the Pictavian Count we mentioned before). He's a donkey, because we have an endemic donkey race here in Pictavia, with long hair, and he's very strong. When I told the other guys about that idea, they laughed out loud and thought I was joking haha, but not at all. I was also tired by those Black Metal bands having goats on their artworks all the time, I mean, I respect the goat as a symbol very much but I needed something unique for my band. Obviously, the main inspiration comes from the almighty IRON MAIDEN, we're huge fans of them.
You have many split and live albums in your discography. Is it important for you to release split material with other underground warriors like you? Are these bands look up to you or you constantly search bands for split materials?
Yeah, this is very important. Some bands release one album each year for example, this is not something we like and want. 7"EP's and splits are a part of the underground, it is our life and culture so we'll always do such releases between our full-length albums. We share splits with bands we've played with and that we respect 666%ly. We regularly get messages from bands who would like to do a split release with us but we are the ones who choose, we can't accept all proposals coming up. It must be meaningful, you know. So as I've said, we must know the band personally, we must have shared the stage or even toured together.
You have released two tapes via the Hungarian Stygian Shadows. How did you get in touch with them?
Leslie is a friend for many years now. I got in touch with him when he was working for his fanzine called STYGIAN SHADOWS as well. I guess we did some trades or something. Then we have been in constant touch, so I remember when he created his label, and we always collaborated together. He is a very serious and kind maniak, total support!
Judging by the amount of your live stuffs obvious that you really enjoy to play in Asia. With whom could you share the stage there? How much different is an underground concert feeling there comparing to an European gig? Where have you to played on that continent?
Indeed Asia is simply mind blowing. We have memories for life from our tours there. Each country is different of course but I can say that the notion of respect is common to all of them. I think that people in Europe are blasé, they pretend they've seen it all, you know. In Asia people still have this flame that most Europeans lost. They are enthusiastic, they come to say how much they feel honoured we crossed the planet to play for them, stuffs like that, and it means so much to us. So far we've played in Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Israel, India, Nepal, Japan. We hope to invade the American soil for the first time in 2018, in Central America exactly. When it comes to the bands we've played with in Asia, I can mention ZYGOATSIS, ORATOR, FUNERAL IN HEAVEN, TORMENTRESS, PROMISCUITY, NIGHTWOLF, ABIGAIL, TERROR SQUAD, FASTKILL, BIRTH RITUAL... and tons more!
Basically how often do you play on gigs? Do you accept every concert request or you rather like the rare and exclusive concerts?
There is no rule, really. We accept when the conditions are good, simple as that. It's on a case-by-case basis. We have no fukking manager or booker, it's all made the ancient DIY way! Also sometimes we decide to travel, then I contact some friends and we work on that. So far, nobody wanted us in Hungary as it seems hehehe...
On the internet I saw that you have a few acoustic live recordings. Could you please tell me more about those? Where did you play at? And what was your goal with those anyway?
There's a special day created by the UNESCO to support local languages, especially endangered ones. Anybody can organize such an event. And there's one each year in Pictavia, I try to go regularly. The people working on that and defending this language know me, they asked me to do something with my band. As it was out of the question to play as a full Metal band, which is too brutal for normal people hehe, we thought about working on acoustic versions. We did it once and it was so interesting that we kept on working on this, we now have a full set and we did another show, which is much better if you ask me. We hope to release a CD with acoustic songs one day, and it would be cool to play this way in some places where we wouldn't be allowed as a Metal band. We are also into traditional music, old school Folk / Country, etc. So it's a real pleasure to play this way. But we do understand if some fans think it's weird and dislike it, we do it for our own pleasure first.
Judging by your pictures and your music I think you are interested in delicious alcoholic drinks. What kind of atmosphere you have on your parties? Who is the biggest drinking machine in your band? Do you perform while you drunk?
Damn right! We tend to drink quite a lot indeed. But not that it's a contest or something, we want to enjoy what we drink. Maybe I'm the heaviest drinker, I always go to bed as the last warrior on the battlefield haha, but Hylde is very close. We don't perform while drunk otherwise we play like shit. And we respect our fans and audience, they come to see us, pay for that, it wouldn't be respectful to be drunk and slaughter our own songs. We do drink 2 or 3 beers before the show though.
Which is your favorite booze? Do you drink everything what are kicks or is it important to you to drink prime material?
I don't know if I have a favourite booze... I love wine, beer and Jack Daniel's in particular. As I've said, it's important to have some quality, we are not into "binge drinking" at all, we let this to immature kids. We do drink cheap German beer at each rehearsal but it's still better than many other beers you find in supermarkets, and we are not rich so we drink expensive and craftbeer from time to time only. As for wine, I have some local dealer here and that's the wine I like to drink regularly, Pictavian wine, but I love them all and as we live in France, we are lucky to find quality wine for good prices. I worship Jack Daniel's as well, and when it comes to stronger alcohol, our region is the proud producer of Cognac (from the city of the same name), also the best Vodka in the world called Grey Goose, but it's expensive so we don't drink this very often.
Your last album, „Beyond the Iron Portal” came out in 2016, which is your second full-length album. What kind of reviews did you get from the fans? Are you satisfied with this LP?
We got a lot of good comments. Some think there are maybe too much Heavy Metal influences in it, and with the passing of time, I agree now. The next one should be a bit more primitive. Apart for some details when it comes to the production, I must say that yes, I am really satisfied with this LP.
In your opinion what is the difference between „Beyond the Iron Portal” and „Light of the Wreckers”? How could you describe these albums?
As stated in the previous question, the new album has more Heavy Metal influences. Also the production is different, to us the first album sounded a bit too "clean", the second one is a bit rawer and old school, which is way better in my opinion. But to me both are in the usual MANZER vein, overall.
You have had some guitarist in the past, but now Hyldehandles the chainsaw among your midst. What is the reason why you have kicked your guitarists out?
We didn't kick anybody out. Xavier was our first guitarist. When we came back from our first Asian tour, he wanted to settle with a Thai girl he met out there, so he left everything to live in Thailand and he's a married man now, we are still very good friends. He is still my webmaster actually. As for Romain, the case is different. He became a philosophy teacher, and his schedule wasn't compatible with MANZER anymore, in the sense that we are touring quite a lot and not during school holidays. Now he plays in STONEWITCH which is one of the best band ever to emerge from Pictavia. He's a brother as well. So no bad blood whatsoever with ex-MANZER members!
It is not secret that you run two labels and that you are also the vocalist of ANNTHENNATH besides MANZER. May I ask you to talk about those project! Can we start with Legion of Death?
LEGION OF DEATH Records has been created in 2001, to support bands from underrated countries on vinyl format. The label became my main activity around 2009, so I've created a parallel label to release CD's as well. I also support bands from the French underground. ANNTHENNATH is a Black Metal band inspired by the 90's vein, but it's on hold as we're all busy with our main bands and personallives.
I read about this label in a 2006’s Stygian Shadows fanzine where you told thoroughly the creation and the conception of Legion of Death. But in spite of the fack could you introduce this label briefly for those who didn’t read that interview?
I've created the label with a friend, who left some years later. It was in 2001, back then vinyl was not so trendy and we wanted to offer the best to bands that were struggling in their countries, mainly in the so-called Third World. We have been fans of such bands since the early 90's, especially South America and Asia. We were fed up to see that western bands caught all the attention. It was not fair to us. When you know a bit of Metal history, you know I am right, and such scenes are as old as some western ones, with cult bands that never got known in Europe while for example, Norway produced a huge amount of crap just because it was from this country. The real underground Metal spirit was still alive somewhere and that's what we wanted to support. Today, such scenes are way more accepted and I am proud if I could help.
How’s it going with the label now? Which was the latest releases and which will be the next?
The label is at its worst. People don't really care about what I do, same with the underground in general, especially physical formats. My latest releases are HARFANG (Heavy Metal from Pictavia) and GOATVERMIN (bestial Black/Death Metal from France). My next releases should be MANZER stuffs (live CD in Japan and new 7"EP), VARUA INO CD (cult Thrash Metal from Tahiti), STONEWITCH CD/LP (Heavy/Doom Metal from Pictavia)... I won't release so much stuffs as in the past for the reasons I've mentioned.
Armée de la Mort is the sublabel of Legion of Death, right? Please tell us, when and why did you create this label!
To me it's not a sub-label, just parallel and well, it's all the same in the end! It's just that I didn't want to change the LEGION OF DEATH concept as it means a lot to me. That's why I came up with ARMEE DE LA MORT. It came to life in 2009, when I lost my job and wanted to create a full activity out of the label. It allows me to release CD's and support the French underground, which is different from LEGION OF DEATH. For your information, "L'Armée de la Mort" is also a song by the mighty KILLERS.
Is it important to you that you like the music what you release or is it enoughif it has the the attitude of a real underground is act? Have you ever released something because the man was your friend?
I release something if I like the music AND if the concept and ideas of the band members are of my tastes. Of course I have released some stuffs because I knew the band members, but also because I was very much into the music. That's what I tend to do most nowadays. But obviously, I would never release some shitty music even if the guys are friends of mine.
You are member of ANNTHENNATH from 2008. This band didn’t give a sign of life for a while. What’s up with the band? When will release new stuff?
I am very busy with MANZER and Raph N°6 (main composer and guitarist) is busy with his own band, SILVER MACHINE. So we think it's better to put an end to ANNTHENNATH. But we hope to record a second full-length album before that. I just don't know when or if it will ever happen. Time will tell...
You told on that mentioned interview that the French metal scene is dead for you, but in spite of the fact you released many French bands materials via Armée de la Mort, of course many of them was your band’s releases. Have your opinion changed in this topic since then?
For some years I must admit the French Metal underground is stronger. Too bad it's still mainly about trends, pose, Shitbook and other insignificant modern stuffs. Some bands do have the real Metal spirit, and struggle in some underrated French regions, so it is the same idea as LEGION OF DEATH. I wanted to support this minority. My opinion is a bit different I must say. Now my view is that the worldwide underground is agonizing anyway. It is saturated and it is dying at the same time. Because everybody wants to show off, but so few maniaks keep the Metal spirit, which is mainly about support. Everybody wants to do his own thing and it cannot work properly. I am very pessimistic but well, I'll keep on playing music and see what happens.
I think the first golden age of the French metal scene was in the 80’s. There was bands like BLASPHEME, ADX, KILLERS, H-BOMB, SORTILÉGE, SILVER SWORD or MISTREATED etc. Do you like the music of the bands like these fossils?
Sure, it is a huge pride for any Hard Metal maniak in France. I have even re-released the recordings from Pictavian Heavy Metal bands like DARKNËSS and HARFANG. My favourite band is KILLERS, I love all their records, I know the guys and they are so cool, and we must not forget that it's the only band from the 80's that NEVER splitted up. It is the strongest force in France! Well, even if they are from the Basque Country actually hehe...
How often do you go to concerts? Have you been at at Pyranean Warriors Fest where METALUCIFER was the headliner? Are there any gigs in France which are interesting for you?
It's hard to answer because there is no regularity with gigs. But I go as much as possible. Nowadays most people don't go to gigs and they just attend huge soulless festivals like shitty HELLFIST. It is also a cause of the underground decline. Yeah, I've went to the PYRENEAN WARRIORS fest, it's made by friends and I couldn't miss METALUCIFER argh, awesome!!! It was funny to see them again there because we just played with SABBAT some months before in Osaka, Japan! The organizers I can recommend in France are ANTHEMS OF STEEL, RAISE THE DEAD, ESPRIT METAL, TROOPERS OF DOOM, ROAZHON UNDERGROUND. They all work hard for the underground, even if unfortunately they lose money very often...
Could you recommend us some remarkable bands from France?
Sure, check out KILLERS (the best, as mentioned before!), MERCYLESS, HEXECUTOR, STONEWITCH, GOATVERMIN, DEATHRONED, MORTAL SCEPTER, ELECTRIC SHOCK, INFAMY, TENTATION, IRON SLAUGHT, BLACKOWL, MOBÜTU, PERFECTÖ, SILVER MACHINE, TREPANATOR, MORTIFERA, NORMAN SHORES, PRESUMPTION...
Your bands and labels havetheir website but you don’t use social networks. What is the reason for this? In your opinion are these pages harmful or rather useful? Basically what do you think about nowadays speed up life what we thanks mainly to the internet? In your opinion where will this incredible technological advancement lead the world?
Because social networks are not social at all. It is just about trends and posers posting stupid and useless comments all the time. It is contrary to the original underground spirit. They have some use because informations can circulate easily. But in the end, it is useless because it is not real SUPPORT. A simple example: it's very hard to sell my productions, but when you see thousands of "likes" on some page, you understand that maybe 1% of those guys actually support the bands and labels. This is a fact. So I am not willing to lose my time and struggle even more on social networks for such a shitty result. Mentalities are changing and it's heading to the wrong direction, in my opinion. I've finally decided to run a Bandcamp page, it's just about music, not stupid immature shit for the masses like Facebook. Of course it's about downloads as well, but I know that some people who like what they hear will actually order the release. It's sad that some people only use this media because they are too lazy to use a webshop but well, there's nothing we can do. My opinion is that technologies is always like "giving jam to pigs" (a saying we have here hehe). It means that it is awesome and useful, but humans always turn this into something stupid and strictly commercial. For example, I am not against downloads. I remember the days when it was impossible to listen to something before ordering, sometimes I had bad surprises haha, now we can check some album first and order it if we like it. But instead of doing so, most people just download everything and their collection is a bunch of files on a hard disk. So even if the Internet is an absolutely fantastic tool that changed the face of the world, it is leading humanity into some kind of obscurantism. I don't have so much faith in humans as they are able to fukk their own environment constantly, I am very pessimistic but well, let the world burn anyway.
Let’s return to MANZER a little. Your recent material was a split with HEXECUTOR, called „PictavianHexecutions”, but it was released more than a year ago. Could you tell us some words about this release?
I really wanted to make a special release with a band we know personally. We shared the stage many times with HEXECUTOR and the guys are close friends. That's why we chose them and I wanted the 10" format because it's also special and unique. I am proud of the result. The idea is to offer one brand new song, a cover song of the other band, and an exclusive live song (the idea was to introduce our respective new albums). I already did that concept with the HEADHUNTER DC / SANCTIFIER 10"MLP released in 2007 on LEGION OF DEATH Records. It was inspired by the DESASTER / PENTACLE 10"MLP actually.
What are the future plans of MANZER?
As I've said, there will a live CD in Japan soon, a new 7"EP in early 2018, and more exciting releases! We'll tour France and Italy with BARBATOS in May 2018 as well. And the next huge trip will be in Central America, with 5 visited countries and 8 gigs. We hope to see more maniaks on the road!
Shaxul! Thank you to answering my questions! I’m not robbing your time any longer! In the end let’s leave a message for the Hungarian maniax!
666 thanxxx to you for the in-depth interview, mate! To all Hungarian maniaks, keep on supporting the underground or fukk off and die!!! We hope to play in your country one day and do some sightseeing. Hails from Pictavia to Hungary!
A çhés fàetes,
SHAXUL.
LEGION OF DEATH / ARMEE DE LA MORT Records: www.legionofdeathrecords.com
Bandcamp: legionofdeathrecords.bandcamp.com
MANZER Pictavian Black Metal: www.manzer.fr
Snail Mail: LOD Records / BP 21 / 86210 Bonneuil-Matours / France
Interview by Sz.
